Karoly Takacs

Károly Takács (Hungarian name order Takács Károly) (21 January 1910 – 5 January 1976) was the first shooter to win two Olympic gold medals in the 25 metre rapid fire pistol event, both with his left hand after his right hand was seriously injured.

 

He is the third known physically disabled athlete to have competed in the Olympic Games after George Eyser in 1904 and Olivér Halassy in 1928, followed by Liz Hartel in 1952, Neroli Fairhall in 1984 and Oscar Pistorius in 2012.

​

During army training in 1938, his right hand was badly injured when a faulty grenade exploded. Takács was determined to continue his shooting career, and switched to shooting with his left hand. He practiced in secret, surprising his countrymen when he won the Hungarian national pistol shooting championship in the spring of 1939.

​

​